Hello from Quartzsite, AZ

Hello from Quartzsite, AZ

Thursday morning January 21, 2010 (Second travelogue of this trip)

After leaving Cortez, CO we traveled on US 160 to US 89 into Flagstaff. We had thought about taking a quick detour in the Monument Valley (a favorite of ours), but we were concerned about the weather. It turned out that we did not hit snow until just before Flagstaff. We got there about noon and it was snowing hard. We then traveled south on I-17. That highway drops fairly steeply as you head south towards Phoenix. After a bit less than an hour, we were below the snow level and the driving was not bad.

We stayed in Goodyear, AZ which is just west of Phoenix. The hotel was very close to the Wigwam resort that we used to travel to each year for a business meeting. It was a fabulous resort and we miss those trips. As a side note, that whole area was owned by the Goodyear Rubber Co. at one time. They made the blimps there and had huge cotton fields so that they could have a supply of reinforcing material for all of their rubber products during the WWII. When Goodyear owned the Wigwam is was fabulous. After they sold it, it was never quite as good.

Tuesday we made the short drive to Quartzsite. I made a quick run out to the site of the Blue Bird rally site to make sure I knew where they were located and to talk to the rally master.

Yesterday, I did my presentation to the Blue Bird folks. The day did not start well, as some BLM representative slid his truck in next to mine as I arrive and told me that I could not be in the area. He said I was selling and that was not legal without a permit. I told him I would leave, but needed to inform the rally master. When I talked to the rally master, he said that the “tin marshal” could go to @#$%. He did not think that the person was even an government employee (I do not recall that he had a uniform) and had been harassing them every since they got there.

We simply “hid” the truck and got on with the program. That was a challenge in itself. First, to be on the safe side, I announced that I was not there to sell and could not because of the regulations. Most folks understood that I was merely doing the official requirement. The seminar was outside and the wind knocked my screen down and tore the screen material. Then the projector was not powerful enough to overcome the sunlight. So we winged it. And it seemed to go well. There was reasonable attendance and good participation. We then did a fire extinguisher demostration with a pan of diesel/gasoline and that went well.

Yesterday afternoon, we went out to the bus rally site. It is an official GM/Eagle/Flxible (correct spelling of Flxible), but there are lots of MCIs and Prevosts as well. The rally does not officially start till today, but there were at least 50 buses there last night.

We were able to see and talk to many friends. We even had a great steak dinner cooked by some friends who invited us to eat with them. Everyone expressed their concerns about our bus problems as well as our family health issues. It just gave us a very warm feeling.

This morning I woke up to a terrible rain storm. There is flooding in Phoenix and a flood watch here. The forecast is for even heavier rain and high winds. I have no idea how this will all play out. It will not be fun looking at buses in the rain and most folks will be holed up in their buses, so jawboning will not be big. There is the huge flea market and the “Big Tent RV” vendor show, but my guess is that the rain and wind will close that show down at least for today.

I guess we will play it by ear. I have some sales to deliver, so we will stick around for at least another day.

That is all for now.